Costa salted caramel brownie

After spending two hours prepping the bathroom ready for it to be painted (my mum is seriously thorough when it comes to painting prep), we went to Costa for a much needed sugar hit...caffeine for my mum. 

Not only did I have the hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream but I opted for the new Christmas salted caramel brownie which cost £2ish. 

I expected a gooey caramel on the top and not much else but instead it is a thicker caramel which doesn't run that is in blotches throughout the brownie. Whilst it doesn't have much of a salty flavour it is sweet and moist. A nice little treat on the go which doesn't cost too much. 

Days of Ashwell

After flying back from a fab weekend in Glasgow, we hadn't had lunch and it was already 2.30pm. To be honest I was starting to get a little cranky so we stopped into Days of Ashwell on the ways to see Lee's granny. 

The plan was to get just a sandwich but then I spotted one lonely brownie. A small little square of goodness with almonds scattered on the top. I thought the brownie might be a little dry having sat there all day but I couldn't have been more wrong. A crispy top and such a moist centre (in places it had that texture of not quite cooked so it was delicious and gooey). The brownie had cut up walnuts in the mixture as well as a hint of coffee. Now I am not a coffee fan but it wasn't over powering and just enhanced the chocolate flavour. 

Such a good Monday post holiday treat!!!

Butch Annie's

Having had a look on the Cambridge local website, I saw an article on Butch Annie's so had added it to my list of: places to visit for a burger. Then one random Tuesday in July, Lee and I decided to sack off the gym and instead go for a meal out...which seems like a logical move!

Butch Annie's is based in Cambridge on Market Street. When we go there, the first time I managed to walk straight by the entrance. It is a small door way tucked between two larger shops. You are then led down a stairway into a dimly lit American diner. Whilst the waiters and waitresses were smiley, they were also pretty damn cool rather than your cute waiters/waitresses as a typical America diner. With tattoos, and hipster clothes they match the interior of Butch Annie's which has 'Never Mind the Bollox' sprayed onto the wall.

The menu is made up of only burgers (there is a veggie option) so if you don't like burgers then Butch Annie's is probably not for you. Lee and I placed our order at which point I began to look around wondering where my cutlery was. As our food arrived on a plastic tray I began to realise that there was no cutlery. My burger was wrapped in a cute blue wrapper, my milkshake was in a silver cup (which was delicious but not as large as when you go to Smokeworks) and my chips were in a little mug with greaseproof brown paper.

I went for the Lewd Lizzie (£8.90) which was a beef patty with aged cheddar, bacon, lettuce, pickled gherkin, tomato, onion, mayo and Butch Annie's smokin' sauce. Not having cutlery definitely made eating the burger a little tricky because it was so juicy. But I would rather it was hard to eat because it was juicy than it being dry so I am not complaining. Lee had the veggie Oh La la (£7.90) which was very similar to mine but minus the meat.

The burger was good and the bacon was proper bacon (not small and fatty). The fries were great at £2.90. They had their skin on and had plenty of salt to them. We also ordered the onion popcorn cooked in chickpea and beer batter (£2.90). I was excited by these most because I have not come across them before. I expected it to be crispy and have a full onion taste. However, they were actually quite big and weren't that crispy. The yogurt dip that came with them though was really interesting.

I am pleased I went to Butch Annie's as the food was good and the atmosphere was very chilled. It would be somewhere you go for a quick bite to eat rather than a long evening meal. The price for the meal was reasonable at £30.40. But if I am honest Smokeworks wins over Butch Annie's because of atmosphere, interesting food and price.

Megan cooks us dinner

So Megan came home for the weekend the other month and she offered to make the whole family dinner. 

She did her famous Jamie Oliver pasta sheets stuffed with butternut squash, spinach, ricotta and a tomato sauce. It was delicious! I definitely had seconds.

And for dessert she served up these adorable pots of vanilla ice cream, raspberries, chunks of chocolate, chocolate shavings and broken brownie. 

Despite Megan trying to claim that the brownie had gone wrong, it was delicious and I think she was lying. The brownie had a nice firm crispy outside and a sweet sugary centre. The classic combination of brownie with vanilla ice cream and the addition of raspberries just made it refreshing and not too heavy.

Next time, I definitely think she needs to make this dessert in bigger bowls.

Shalom 2 - Portugal 2015

So having tonsilitis sucks but having tonsilitis whilst on holiday really sucks. And that is exactly what I have had which is really less ideal because I would say the level of excitement for the holiday was pretty high. I mean there was even a countdown for the trip to Portugal with Lee, Sarah and Lloyd which began a good 30+ days before we were due to arrive. 

One of the worst things about tonsilitis is that you can't really eat and you don't have much of an appetite. But yesterday was the first day that I started to feel 'normal' again. 

After a day of hangovers from the other three and a very warm game of crazy golf, we went to Shalom 2 which is tucked down a side street in old town Albruferia. 

It's like walking into a little cave with curved walls and exposed brick and dim lighting. For starter I had the garlic prawns and for main the chicken satay with rice. They were both so good!!! 

The dessert was a Nutella brownie which I had to share as I was already at bursting point. The brownie did not disappoint mainly because it was definitely rammed full of Nutella. A crispy outer layer then the inside was was gooey but more sticky than usual because of the Nutella. It also came with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. 

I definitely think it was the right way to go with being able to eat again. Also the service and price were fab!

Bea's of Bloomsbury

The beauty of working in Farringdon now is that I am so close to my dad's office that I actually get to see him during the week. Last time we met for lunch we went to Leather lane and this time we went to Chifafa which is on Clerkenwell road (they do a seriously mean wrap or salad).

Not satisfied with just a wrap we wandered down to Bea's of Bloomsbury which is a tiny little cake shop sat beside Farringdon station. 

I naturally opted for the £2.60 "killer" brownie which consisted of peanut butter, coconut, praline and peacans all crammed into one small little rectangle. 

On a Friday afternoon when work had been pretty intense, that brownie was exactly what I was after.

I thought it might be really sickly but actually it was just really moist, melt in the mouth brownie. Big thumbs up!!

Oak Tree Inn - Loch Lomond

As a family we all travelled up to Glasgow as Megan finished her third year of uni. We had one night in Glasgow and then went over to Loch Lomond. We stayed in the Loch Lomond Waterfront lodges in Balmaha which were fab. Our lodge looked straight onto the loch with no obstructions and we even had a hot tub (which we went in despite the less than ideal midges).

Loch Lomond is stunning. It is the start of the West Highland walk which Meg and dad were planning to do whilst Sian, Lee, mum and I took a more leisurely pace to the break. We stayed in Balmaha which is busy in high season with tourists and walkers but when we went at the start of June it was peaceful and picturesque. With just one pub and one shop it is pretty much you and nature.

On our last night there we went to the one pub there called the Oak Tree Inn which is a 5 minute walk from the lodges. It looks like a newly done pub from the outside but when you enter there is an immediate warm welcoming feeling of an old traditional pub with beams and slate. The restaurant is in the new extension but it certainly doesn't feel like that, in fact it feels like a little grotto. Covered in fairy lights, cups and saucers hanging from the ceiling and walls it feels like a magical grotto....which obviously made my mum very excitable.

I ordered the burger...obviously, but that was after having a huge plate of smoked salmon! Alongside this I had some of their homemade pear cider which tasted just like fruit juice. The burger was what tasted like 100% meat. Very solid in texture but pure in taste. It came with a lovely crisp onion ring and a huge bowl of chips. A simple burger but done well. 

SmokeWorks Cambridge

After having our Saturday trip to London cancelled, we were both starving. I wanted to go somewhere new and didn't really fancy a pub so we headed into Cambridge for lunch. I Googled BBQ places in Cambridge and SmokeWorks came up. I hadn't been before but seeing it on Google reminded me that I had seen that friends had been just the week before and their review had seemed pretty good.

SmokeWorks is a BBQ restaurant on Free School Lane, opposite the Eagle (near the Corn Exchange), which is all about BBQ-ed meat, bourbon and beer (the three Bs). Tucked down this small street it is a place that you would just happen upon. Inside it is industrial in design with rough wood and metal tables, exposed brick and industrial gadgets such as the red switch you turn when you are ready to order.

You are unable to reserve a table so we turned up and put our names down on the list meaning we would get a call when our table was ready. So whilst we waited we headed to the Eagle for a quick drink.

Once we were called we were sat down in the basement of SmokeWorks which has high tables, a sweet little nook and soft lighting. The menu has shared platters which includes ribs, coleslaw, chicken wings, spiced sausages and buns. If you don't fancy a platter then there is the option for ribs or buns. The buns are all pulled meat of some variety with pork, beef and chicken on offer. There is also the option of two veggie buns.

Accompanying the main you get the choice of either two minor sides or one major side. The major sides include: sweet potato fries, beef dripping mash, bbq corn on the cob with chicken salt. All of which sound absolutely incredible and smell divine (although probably not ideal for vegetarians but there is the option to have the side without the meat juices).

When we were ready to order, we flicked the switch of the red button by your table. I opted for the chicken bun as I had never had pulled chicken before with sweet potato fries and the corn on the cob. The bun came with smoked bacon and bacon jam. Our meal arrived on a tray, wrapped up in paper and the fries in falcon bowls.

The burger was insane, The pulled chicken was so soft and the smoked bacon complimented it and then juiciness of the jam made it all melt in the mouth. I added a layer of BBQ sauce, with the condiments sitting in a wooden box by our table so I did't have to faff asking for them, I was really surprised by how filling the meal was.

The whole meal came to £26 for two main meals and one drink. So a reasonable price for really flavourful food. I will definitely go back to try and few more of the options on the menu and make sure I have eaten very little that day.

Van Hage - Weekend Garden Centre trip

The weekends always end up so jam packed seeing friends, family, life admin and trips out. One Saturday, I spent the day with Sian and Lee and decided to take a trip over to the Van Hage garden centre in Ware. I love it there! I realise that a garden centre trip makes me sound about 50 however, it is not a normal garden centre, it is on a whole other level. There are so many different rooms full of homeware from shabby chic to American traditional to seaside themed. On top of that there is a cooking section with utensils, homemade chutneys, cakes and jams. Outside of the garden centre there is all the plants you can imagine as well as a small petting farm with guinea pigs, goats and birds. It keeps everyone happy.

After roaming around all of this and having bought candle holders, caramelised red onion chutney and a photo frame, we finished the trip in the cafe. I ordered one huge hot chocolate topped off with whipped cream and a chocolate brownie. There is a huge selection of cakes and savoury bits to choose from. The chocolate brownie was definitely the right choice for me though. Nice and sweet with a crispy top. It wasn't cheap however, it didn't break the bank and finished the trip off nicely.

Homemade Brownies - Baking Mad recipe

Last weekend, we were going over to my parents for Sunday lunch and they asked for us to bring a dessert. So for Lee's first ever baking experience we made a blueberry crumble cake which turned out surprisingly well.

To go with the cake, on a whim I decided to make some brownies to take. I didn't have my hummingbird bakery cook book so I had to look a recipe up online and came across the Baking Mad recipe for the 'ultimate brownie.' http://www.bakingmad.com/the-ultimate-chocolate-brownie-recipe/
The recipe looked pretty amazing so I thought I would give them a go. However, I didn't have unrefined dark muscovado sugar so substituted it for light brown caster sugar. I tend to use this when I bake brownies because the fine grain gives a smooth texture and because it is brown it doesn't taste quite as synthetic. I also added in white chocolate chips because I love the little extra sweet burst you get when you add them in.

So the ingredients were as follows:

200g Butter (unsalted)
350g Dark chocolate
3 Eggs
250g Light brown caster sugar
50g self-raising flour
30g of white chocolate chips

So the steps were as follows:

Step 1: Pre heat the oven to 190 and line a 20cm baking tin with grease proof paper. - From my experience, make sure that you use grease proof paper the tin or butter it so that the brownies come out easily. The reason I say this is, with a brownie, they are gooey even after you have cooled them or chilled them in the fridge so having the grease proof paper makes it so much easier to cut up and remove the first few brownies. 

Step 2: melt together the butter and chocolate in a Pyrex bowl over simmering water

Step 3: Whisk together the eggs until pale and fluffy then add in the sugar until it is thick and then fold in the chocolate - I haven't had to whisk the eggs separately before but actually, I really like this technique because it gives the brownie mixture a lighter consistency so it doesn't feel as dense

Step 4: sieve in the flour until the mixture is smooth

Step 5: Pour into the baking tin and cook for 30-35 minutes, the top should begin to look like paper and there should still be some movement in the centre of the tin

Step 6: If the brownie begins to brown at the edges pop some foil over the edges to protect them

Step 7: Leave to cool and then you can cut it up into squares

These brownies were great. They weren't really gooey in the centre however they had the paper top and a very smooth consistency to them. The addition of chocolate chips definitely added a bit of extra sweetness. I would like to try them again when I have muscovado sugar in the house.

Gourmet Burger Bistro - Cork

As the second part of Lee's birthday weekend away to Ireland, we had two nights in Cork. As per usual we took a coach there in the early hours. I slept most of the way whilst Lee played on his phone and did man things.

Cork was gorgeous when we arrived! Stepping off the coach which we had been stuck on for three hours, into the bright December day, started the day right. After checking into our hotel which looked onto the River Lee (the fact it had the same name as Lee, definitely had a bearing on my choice). We decided we needed something to eat. We hadn't eaten since the previous evening so using my Tripadvisor app, I found a place called Gourmet Burger Bistro, a 5 minute walk from our hotel. It ticked the boxes on feeling lazy, being hungry and having both vegetarian and meat burgers.

The restaurant sits on the start of the hill of Bridge Street. We walked in and it has a cafe/ american diner feel to it being slightly darker, painted wood, booths and wooden tables. There were only a couple of other tables when we went in but it felt very relaxed. We were sat in the cosy corner which I always like.

We skipped the starters as we were hungry. I went for the Italian burger which came with parma ham, pesto and mozarella. While Lee went for the breaded halloumi burger which came with sweet peppers, roast beetroot and red pepper chutney. Mine was nice but the burger meat was a little thin and whilst the parma ham, mozarella and pesto goes fantastically with chicken, with beef it isn't such a great combo. Having said that I loved that it came with an Italian flag in it and the bread was soft and it still tasted good. Lee's on the other hand was amazing!! It was crispy, juicy, sweet and sour all at one. It was so delicious. The chips were a great size too.

A nice little extra touch and one that I always appreciate is that there was mayonnaise on the table and it was home made.

To finish the lunch off we had the hazelnut and chocolate brownie to share. It came with toffee sauce and real whipped cream. It was soft and chocolatey but the toffee sauce definitely made it!!

The meal cost around 37 euros which is about £31 which for a hearty lunch time meal was good value for money.

Cork was gorgeous! Such a relaxed and pretty city and the trip to Blarney castle and dinner at Market Lane and Gourmet Burger Bistro made it tick all the right boxes.

Christmas lunch with a brownie thrown in

Just before Christmas, my dad and I finally met up for a lunch during the week....it only took us 6 months to organise. 

We went to this lovely little place called Banh Mi Bay on Theobalds Road. I had the pork rolls to start and then a chicken salad for my main. They were delicious and filling but light and not greasy. The atmosphere is there is pretty hectic at lunch because you can get takeaways but it doesn't feel crowded. 

Afterward lunch, my dad wanted to pick up a little extra present for my mum and sister so we popped into Konditor and Cook. Naturally I was drawn to the brownie display. It was very tempting to go for the 'buy three and get one free' but I resisted. Instead I chose just one single Curly Whirly brownie which had a cheesecake marbled on the top. 

It took a lot of will power but I managed to save the brownie till the evening when I shared it with Lee. Cut into half (the slightly larger half going to me), we ate the brownie. My god it was good! So moist and then the smooth creamy cheesecake made it melt in your mouth. It was gooey but not so much that it stuck your mouth together or that it fell apart when you touched it. 

When I finished that brownie, I was kicking myself, why did I go for the buy three and get one free? Oh well I will just have to make another trip there. 

The brownie was so good I went onto their website to torture myself a little bit more by looking at photos of all the brownies. Whilst I did make myself more hungry for a brownie, I did also discover that Konditor and Cook have a cooking class where you can go and learn how to make their delicious brownies. For an evenings class which is an hour and a half and costs £60 you learn to make their brownies. I know what I want for my birthday! 

Dublin in December, GBK

So for Lee's birthday being the 'great' girlfriend that I am (someone has to tell me even if it is coming from me), I bought a weekend in Dublin/Cork. We arrived on the Saturday to a bright clear day which always makes the early start a little more bearable. We checked into the Academy Plaza just off O'Connell Street because the location is great and the rooms don't feel too corporate as well as very helpful staff.

During our day in Dublin we pottered around the Christmas market drinking plenty of mulled cider....it was cold so we needed keep warm. As well as picking up some fudge along the journey. We then took a walk around Pheonix park passed the lake and finished our drinks on the peaceful benches.

That evening, we went to the Gourmet Burger Kitchen on South Anne Street, We had been the previous year and GBK is a mile better in Ireland. I discovered that it was actually set up in Ireland which must be why it is so good. We shared onion rings to start which were huge, the batter wasn't greasy and actually had this uneven crispy texture rather than just one solid lump. For my main I had the avocado, cheese, bacon burger which came with relish, gherkin and I order a side of fries. The burger was big and juicy with the cheese melted enough so it oozed. And the fries were hand cut, crispy yet soft inside and salty. On top of that unlike in the UK you get a refillable drink so you can keep washing your food down. Lee had the special goat cheese covered in breadcrumbs which came with rocket and a sweet jam. I unfortunately haven't seen this option in UK but hopefully it will come soon.

The total meal came to around 40 euros and I can say that GBK in Ireland is great! The sizes are bigger, the staff are really friendly, quick service, refillable drink and the food is just that little bit more yummy.